By the time student journalist Jonathan Mansour earns his bachelor’s degree in communications from Cal State Fullerton, he will have covered not one, but two Olympic Games.
The aspiring sports broadcaster, who covered the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is now one of 22 students in Italy covering the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games as part of a Cal State Fullerton study abroad program.
“Not many journalists at this point in their careers can say that they have covered the Olympics once, so to do it twice is an opportunity I don’t take for granted,” said Mansour, a Class of 2026 grad who is serving as a student lead in Italy.
Led by Gayle Jansen Brisbane, CSUF associate professor of communications, and Bob Young, a faculty associate from Arizona State University, the three-week study abroad program is designed to jumpstart students’ media careers by providing them with hands-on journalism experience in one of the world’s most renowned sports environments.
From editorial stories and social media campaigns to digital and broadcast packages, their content is being shared with audiences across the globe as they cover stories about the impact of the games on Italian cities, the Southern California athletes who are competing, the various competitions and more.
“The first program was a resounding success, and we wanted the chance to recreate it for other students,” said Jansen Brisbane. “Similar to Paris, the students in Italy are researching and producing compelling cultural and event stories, and learning how to succeed in an intense environment alongside hundreds of professional journalists.”
Jansen Brisbane, who designed the first 2024 Paris Olympics study abroad trip, said she was inspired to lead the 2026 program because she saw firsthand how the experience positively impacted students and put them on a path to achieve their goals in a competitive media industry.
Several students and alumni from the 2024 program went on to land jobs and internships at top organizations, including Robbie Loya ’24 (B.A. communications-journalism), who serves as director for broadcast production at Seattle University, and Michael Cody Stephenson ’25 (B.A. communications-journalism), who launched his career as ticker operator for the National Football League.
Throughout the trip, students are also completing courses to earn their Sports Media Certificate, which prepares graduates for careers in sports journalism, entertainment and communications. The specialized program in the College of Communications is one of the reasons Isabella Lyons chose Cal State Fullerton. A senior communications student, she is enrolled in Sports Reporting and Multimedia Journalism courses while studying abroad in Italy.
She credits the program courses and her hands-on training at student media organizations like OC News and Titans Sports Network for providing her with the high-quality reporting and content creation skills she’ll need to succeed: “This experience is allowing me to take what I’ve learned and apply it in a professional setting, which will be invaluable as I build my resume and prepare for a career as a sideline reporter.”
Follow students’ coverage of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games on the CSUF Olympics website.